Super Fine Lung Ching

Another Harney and Sons tea: Super Fine Lung Ching.

This is a dry (astringent) yellowish green tea with a very clean, smooth flavor and hints of citrus, like the scent of grapefruit skin, and a slight nutty flavor, a bit like almond or hazelnut. The flavor changes and opens up as the tea cools, so it is actually better to brew it with water off the boil and drink it when it has cooled a bit. It is one of the more subtle and delicious green teas that I have tasted, but it is quite expensive, and I don't really enjoy the way the dry "mouth feel" lasts and lasts. Also, it seems to have quite a bit more caffeine than I expected, and I am pacing around my office this afternoon like a caged animal, feeling twitchy!

Due to its astringency, I would not recommend drinking it on an empty stomach (in general, any of the more astringent teas tend to make me nauseated when drunk on an empty stomach). When I feel like a green tea pick-me-up at work mid-afternoon I will probably continue to make a pot of genmaicha (toasted bancha with rice) or hojicha (roasted stems) which are much less expensive but make a comforting and mildly stimulating brew.